Are You an Overthinker?

You sent a text. A normal text. Maybe something like "sounds good" or "see you there." And now, forty-five minutes later, you are lying in bed wondering if "sounds good" came across as passive-aggressive, whether you should have added an exclamation point, whether the lack of an emoji made it seem cold, and whether the other person is now silently reevaluating your entire friendship based on two words you typed while standing in line at the grocery store. If this sounds familiar, you might be an overthinker.

Overthinking is one of the most common mental health complaints in the modern world. A landmark study by psychologist Susan Nolen-Hoeksema at Yale University found that overthinking — which she formally termed "repetitive negative thinking" — is a significant predictor of depression, anxiety, and reduced problem-solving ability. Her research demonstrated that overthinkers do not actually solve problems more effectively than non-overthinkers. In fact, they solve them less effectively, because the repetitive cycling of thoughts creates the illusion of productivity while actually trapping the thinker in a loop.

Nolen-Hoeksema identified two primary forms of overthinking: rumination (replaying past events) and worry (anticipating future events with anxiety). A 2023 study found that approximately 73% of adults aged 25-35 report overthinking as a regular experience.